Legacy of Hard Work!

I have been thinking about work this week.

 

Maybe it is because Monday was Labor Day. Maybe it’s because I am working a couple of extra shifts this week and I’ll have forty-eight hours in by the end of the week. Maybe it’s because I’ve been trying to schedule some school visits and work on marketing books.

 

I don’t know why, but I know who it makes me think of. I cannot think of work without Grandpa Jones popping into my head. Oh, all of my grandparents were hard workers. But, hard work is a characteristic of Grandpa Jones that almost anyone who ever knew him will comment on. He worked hard.

He learned to work as a young child. When he was eight years old his family moved from Kansas to Nebraska in a covered wagon. Within a couple of years he was doing chores for neighbors when they were gone. Now, lest you think that was no big deal, think again.

 

What it meant was that he went to their homestead, some distance from his parents. He stayed by himself at this homestead. He did the chores in the evening. He fixed his own meals (often including pies which the lady of the house left for him) and then he put himself to bed. Without the benefit of an electric alarm clock, he had to wake himself up in the wee hours of the morning so he could get the morning chores done and walk a couple of hours to school. Yes, walk. A couple of hours.

 

Grandpa wasn’t afraid of hard work. He thrived on it. He taught his children to work hard. He taught his grandchildren, too. He taught us that there is a grand feeling of satisfaction in a job well done. Hard work makes you feel good!

 

So, this week, when I am working extra hours at the hospital, picking and canning green beans, and working on my writing/speaking career I am confident of one thing.

 

My Grandpa Jones would be proud of me. Right proud, I expect.

For more legacy stories click below!

The More Things Change. . .

In 2009 when my first book, The Double Cousins and the Mystery of the Missing Watch was going through the editorial process I was asked regarding the cutting of muskthistles. Wouldn’t ranchers today just spray for the weeds?

 

So, wanting to do due diligence, I called some of my experts (family who just happen to be ranchers) and found that they do spray a lot now. However, they do still dig some out by hand. So, because I was determined cutting muskthistles was to be in my book, I left it. I also put a sentence or two about how Grandpa didn’t want to put all of those pesticides on his property.

 

Imagine my delight this morning when I went to Facebook and saw a post by the daughter of my oldest cousin. She included this photo of her daughter delivering a treat to her daddy who was laboring intently to rid his ranch property in Nebraska of the dreaded weed. The photo itself charmed me. It reminded me immediately of the photo I have from when we were at the ranch preparing to go cut muskthistles.

 

But what made me laugh out loud was what she said. She lamented that if their neighbors would take care of the muskthistles across the line, my cousin wouldn’t have such a problem.

 

That’s funny?

 

Yes, it is. Because it instantly conjured up in my mind the image of my Grandpa standing in his pasture with a disgusted look on his face and these words coming out of his mouth. “If the neighbors would just take care of their thistles I wouldn’t have these here.”

 

Lesson # 1- The more it changes, the more it stays the same.

 

Lesson # 2- If we all take care of our responsibilities we have happier neighbors and less work.

 

The end.

 

P.S. If you want to read the section from my book that correlates to today’s blog you can find the book either in paperback or on Kindle at Amazon.com.

http://alturl.com/bp7ym

Constructive Construction!

Are We There Yet?

The best part of traveling to South Dakota in the summer is the weather. It is warm. We don’t have to worry about snow or ice. However, there is a downside.

 

Construction zones.

 

It seems those orange signs and construction cones were everywhere this time. At times it impeded our progress and delayed our arrival, but I tried to remind myself that it’s necessary.

 

I couldn’t help but think about some lessons we can learn from construction—some constructive lessons so to speak.

 

Sometimes you are forced to slow down long before the construction ever begins. They place the signs out, then eventually—much later—the cones. Finally you get to the little tiny, seemingly miniscule section of construction. Is all of this notification really necessary for such a little construction area?

 

Yes, it is.

 

If they waited until the last minute there would be a pile up. By warning early and often, they avoid accidents and more frustration. The same could be said of avoiding problems in life. Early warnings should be heeded. Listen to your conscience. Pay attention to the Holy Spirit. Don’t ignore people who give you a verbal warning! Don’t wait until you are right up against a problem or sin to do something about it. Take heed early and slow down. Then if there is a problem you have time to stop!

 

Secondly, when going through an area of construction—or in life, change—it is best to slow down, since often the lanes are narrow and the road is rough. There may be a sharp drop off on the edge of the road. If you go too fast, you might slip off and edge and be pulled into the ditch! If you are going slower you can avoid whacking your car with the cones, and you won’t end up in the ditch waiting for a tow truck.

 

Finally, don’t get impatient with the slowness of the drive. Use the time to look a little closer at the scenery. Maybe you will see something at 45 miles per hour that you would have missed at 70. In life, it can be like that too. It seems to me that the days are flying by faster and faster. Maybe some of the road construction warning signs in my life are meant to slow me down and get me to take in the view.

 

So, when you see a road construction warning sign don’t be irritated. Instead, consider it constructive construction and let it remind you to be vigilant in your personal life. Slow down—enjoy the scenery!

http://amazon.com/author/miriamjonesbradley

A Light Bulb Moment and a Contest!

Announcing the soon release of my first electronic newsletter. I will be sending the first edition before Thanksgiving. This will be a quarterly newsletter all things Double Cousins. It will be aimed at children, parents, teachers, and anyone else who wants to read about what I am up to.

I hope to offer great ideas, awesome information, and “hear-it-first-here”news!

However, I need your help! I have been wracking my brain for a great, awesome, superlative title for the newsletter. Just when I had about given up a light bulb went off in my brain! Light bulb!

Of course! I’ll have a contest. Contests are fun! Contests bring readers! Contests are helpful!

So, here’s the deal. Submit an idea for a name for my newsletter by November 14^th and I will choose my favorite three. Then, when the first edition of the yet-to-be-named newsletter is released you will have an opportunity to vote on which of the three names is actually chosen.

The person who comes up with the winning title will receive a free copy of each of my books, just in time for Christmas.

So, put your thinking caps on and send me your ideas.

Send them to: doublecousins.net@gmail.com

If you would like to be included on the mailing list for the e-newsletter and can’t think of a name just send an email to this address and I’ll add you to the list!

A Tea Party For One

Yesterday I had a tea party for one on my porch. It was lovely.

For the first time in several weeks I had a day that I deemed my “day off.” Oh, I still went out, picked beans and shelled them. But, due to the fact that we had a supper at church I didn’t even fix supper. I didn’t fix breakfast either since my hubby spoils me but that’s another topic!

So, shortly after noon I said to myself. “Self, would you come over and join me for a tea party on my porch?”

Self jumped up and down and clapped her hands. “What a lovely idea, Miriam. Why didn’t I think of that?”

And, that my friends is how I had a tea party for one.

I filled one of my favorite tea pots—the magnolia teapot I used when I had tea parties with my nieces and nephews years ago. I covered it with the tea cozy my sister, Vonda bought for me for my birthday. I pulled a tea cup and saucer down out of the cabinet. It wasn’t a fancy one, but one my husband helped me look all over town for on one of our anniversaries.

I carried my pile of books to the porch: a Bible, No Time On My Hands—the autobiography of a homesteading lady in the late 19^th century, and my friend’s great-grandma—and an inspirational book on writing by Cecil Murphey.

 

I sat on my porch, read my books, drank my tea, and listened to the birds. Occasionally, I saw one of the first Autumn leaves let go and fall.

 

I relaxed. I reminisced about the high tea we experienced at the Christian Commicators Conference last week. It might surprise you but I do occasionally enjoy being forced to sit and remember my manners. Just not all of the time. I remembered the delight with which my nieces and nephews approached a tea party with me or with my sister, Vonda. Admittedly, the boys were in it for the refreshments—AKA food—but they were there and they learned a few hints as to the niceties of life in the process.

Oh yes, those niceties. I have to say that the nicest part of this “tea party for one” was the fact that no one cared if I left my sweetener wrapper on the table instead of the saucer. And, it didn’t matter if I dropped my spoon on the floor. Now, THAT’s the kind of tea party for a “day off”!